


Brothers

by batsy22



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Obi-Wan Needs a Hug, Tatooine, very slight canon rewrite though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 11:10:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11103360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsy22/pseuds/batsy22
Summary: "Obi-Wan had known that Anakin had survived of course, but he had never actually seen Vader before. And in his darkest dreams, he would never have imagined the nightmare that stood before him. A nightmare he himself had created.This was not the wide-eyed boy from Tatooine he had trained. Nor was it the man he had called brother during the Clone Wars.This was a monster. "A character study of Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout his exile up until his final duel with his former apprentice.





	Brothers

 

The Jedi were dead.

 

That was the official story of the Empire at least. According to Imperial propaganda, the traitorous Jedi had been wiped out decades ago, and that their fire that once burned so brightly across the galaxy had finally gone out.

 

Publically, no one would dare oppose that position. But secretly, when they were sure there were no Imperial ears nearby, beings of all races all across the galaxy would whisper a single name.

_Obi-Wan Kenobi._

They whispered that Kenobi, the great hero of the Clone Wars, still lived. That he had survived the Emperor’s purge and had evaded Vader and his Inquisitors ever since. They whispered that one day Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, would return to once again bring peace and justice to the galaxy.

 

They were wrong. For Obi-Wan Kenobi had died long ago. 

 

It was true that Kenobi still existed. But that was all it was, a mere existence for a single purpose: the protection of Luke Skywalker. The man so many still whispered about, the great General of the Clone Wars, had died almost two decades ago, on a lava bank on Mustafar.

 

Now, instead of fighting bounty hunters and Sith Lords, Obi-Wan spent his days mediating under the harsh twin Suns of Tatooine. The desert had a tendency to rip away the layers of a person until only the very core of them remained. It was no wonder a place like this forged someone like Anakin Skywalker.

 

Obi-Wan knew it was improper for a Jedi to feel attachment. Compassion and love were permissible, encouraged even, but having attachment- _possessing_ someone was not the Jedi way. It was for this reason Jedi did not mourn death. They understood that death was a natural part of life, and that feeling remorse over one’s passing into the Force was indeed a profoundly selfish act. 

_“Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter,”_ was what Master Yoda used to be fond of saying.

 

But despite Obi-Wan’s Jedi training, in the early years of his exile, he could not help but dwell on what he had lost.

 

He thought of the order he had called home for his entire life, destroyed by the very system they spent generations protecting

 

 He thought of his former flame Satine, murdered by an old and persistent enemy.

 

 He thought of clones like Cody and Rex whom he had fought alongside during the war, discarded by the Empire as soon as they fulfilled their ultimate purpose.

 

In time, he had learned to let these things go. But there was one old wound that no matter how much he tried, simply would not mend.

 

_Anakin._

He had loved Anakin like a brother. And if he was being completely honest, he still did. 

 

It would have been easier if he had died. If he had become one with the Force. But instead he had…

 

Even after all these years, that thought was still too much to bear.

 

He would never forget the moment when he saw his brother, the man he was so deeply proud of, murdering _children._

 

He had initially wondered what caused a great man like Anakin Skywalker to become such a monster. Master Yoda had explained that the Dark Side was a powerful corrupter, and that it destroyed everything and everyone it touched.

_Once you start down the Dark path, forever consume you it will._

But Obi-Wan knew that was a lie. It was not that the Dark Side had corrupted Anakin, it was that Obi-Wan had failed him.

 

He failed him by being a Jedi Master when Anakin needed a friend. By caring more about Jedi dogma than about Anakin himself. By not realizing- no _ignoring_ the pain of his old friend because he feared what acknowledging the truth would bring.

 

So when Anakin had faced a crisis, he did not turn to the man who had failed him over and over again, he turned to the man who promised him the power to save the woman he loved. And thus Anakin Skywalker stood no chance against Darth Vader.

 

No matter how much he wanted to, he could not change those things. So for now he did the only thing he could: he watched the boy and waited. 

* * *

_It was a few years into Anakin’s training, on the war-torn planet of Carnelion IV. As Master and Apprentice looked down upon a dead world destroyed from centuries of warfare, Obi-Wan felt a deep confusion stemming from his young apprentice._

_“Why did the Republic allow this?”_

_“This world was not part of the Republic. There was nothing here the Senate needed.”_

_“And the Jedi? We couldn’t do anything to stop this?”_

_Obi-Wan sighed. “The Jedi Order is under the jurisdiction of the Senate. And even if we weren’t, there are only ten thousand of us to keep the light of peace alive in the entire galaxy,” he explained, “the Jedi can guide. We can teach. But we are not an army. If a people are truly determined to wipe themselves out of existence, there is little we can do.”_

_Obi-Wan felt a deep anger rise inside his apprentice_

_“So this entire world- all these people-gone…because that’s just the system?”_

_“I don’t like it either, but yes. The system is…not perfect.”_

_“The system should change,” Anakin declared with a certainty that worried Obi-Wan._

_“Perhaps someday it will.”_

 

* * *

There were not many outside the Jedi Order who understood the true nature of the bond between Master and Apprentice. It was why when people observed Anakin and Obi-Wan together, they remarked that the pair seemed like close friends.

 

But “ _close friends”_ could not begin to describe the relationship between both men. What they had was closer than friendship, closer than family. For they were close in the Force itself, meaning they could sense each other’s feelings even when they were lightyears apart, communicate with each other through the Force, and sometimes even experience particularly intense memories of the other person.

 

For most Jedi, when a Master and Apprentice bonded, that bond would remain for the rest of their lives. If the bond was particularly strong, it would remain even if one left the Jedi Order… or worse.

 

It was for this reason, Master Yoda had fallen into a deep sorrow when Count Dooku- _Darth Tyranus_ \- had fallen. At the time, Obi-Wan had felt pity for the old Master, but he never once thought that he would share his pain.

 

If Obi-Wan was being honest, he had sensed something… _dark_ in Anakin even before the War. And as the Clone Wars went on, and the Jedi were faced with more and more horrors, Obi-Wan felt that darkness grow. Part of him worried about Anakin, but that part was drowned out by his fear of what acknowledging that darkness would bring. He had realized too late that he had been a coward.

 

The chaotic hours after Order 66 had been burned into Obi-Wan’s memory. But there was one memory that he would especially never forget, an image he saw in his nightmares every single night.

 

That was Anakin, eyes glowing yellow, as he used his power to choke the woman he loved. When Obi-Wan gazed into the Force at his old friend, he saw nothing of the man he recognized. The only thing he saw was Vader.

 

_You will not take her from me._

_Your anger and your lust for power have already done that._

As they dueled above the rivers of lava, Obi-Wan felt flashes of the Anakin he knew through their bond, as if his friend had brief moments of clarity in the haze of the Dark Side. But those flashes were completely eclipsed by Vader.

 

_You underestimate my power._

_Don’t try it._

The other image Obi-Wan saw every night in his nightmares was that of a maimed Anakin desperately trying to crawl away from the lava bank. In that moment, Obi-Wan felt all of Anakin’s hatred, all directed at _him._  

 

_You were the Chosen One!_

Then, Obi-Wan and Anakin, as Master and Apprentice, burned in the lava together.

 

But that was not the end of either of their ordeals. When Padme had died and Anakin had awoken from his injuries, Anakin’s pain was so immense, Obi-Wan was _there_ with him. He felt it as Anakin’s desire to always do good was twisted into a desire to dominate, cause pain, to take _revenge_ against the galaxy.

 

_It seems in your anger, you killed her._

 

Obi-Wan collapsed as he felt Anakin Skywalker die.

 

Even now, with lightyears separating them, there were some still nights in which Obi-Wan could feel his old apprentice’s hatred, his agony, and his broken soul. It would have been easier if Obi-Wan had been brave enough on that lava bank, if he had just….

 

But even after everything that had happened, Obi-Wan simply couldn’t bear to even finish that thought. Certainly, if he had been brave enough, he would have saved countless lives taken by the monster that was Vader.

 

He _should_ have regretted it. He should have been able to look back and understand that he had made a mistake. But he didn’t regret it one bit.

 

And perhaps that was the most damning thing of all.

 

* * *

_It was the final year of the Clone War, during the first mission to Utapau, when Obi-Wan and Anakin had been tasked with destroying a massive kyber crystal weapon. Their first mission without Ahsoka Tano._

_They sat by the campfire in silence, until finally Obi-Wan spoke._

_“Dwelling on Ahsoka’s decision won’t bring her back, Anakin.”_

_“I miss her, okay? Is that what you wanted me to say?” Anakin snapped._

_He took a breath. “I just don’t understand how she could have left the Order.”_

_“It was a surprise decision to all of us but…”_

_“It was wrong!” Anakin snarled, “she’s a Jedi, she belongs with us…she’s one of us.”_

_“She made the decision Anakin.”_

_“Well what choice did we give her?” Anakin yelled, “the second there was any suspicion about her loyalty, the Council turned their backs on her.”_

 

_“I will grant you that…mistakes were made. But she still chose to leave,” Obi-Wan explained, “part of the Jedi Order is not letting emotion cloud your better judgement and that’s exactly what Ahsoka did. Even in her most critical moment.”_

_Silence fell upon the camp once more. But Obi-Wan could still feel the storm brewing inside his old apprentice._

_“You can’t take responsibility for Ahsoka’s decision, Anakin.”_

_“How would you feel if I turned out to be a major disappointment?”_

_“It’s not the same.”_

_“It’s precisely the same. You took me under your wing and practically raised me” said Anakin, “I’m your padawan, just like Ahsoka was mine. How well would you sleep knowing that I failed you?”_

_“Not very well I suppose.”_

_Obi-Wan turned over so he was looking Anakin directly in the eyes._

_“But luckily that isn’t true… and never will be.”_

 

* * *

“You fought in the Clone Wars?” the boy asked, his young eyes sparkling with wonder.

 

Obi-Wan smiled. “Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight- same as your father.”

                                                            

_Promise you will train the boy._

_Yes, Master._

_He is the Chosen One._

“I wish I’d known him.”

 

Obi-Wan smiled once again at the memory.

                                                            

“He was the best star pilot in the galaxy.”

 

_At the pass between us._

_This is where the fun begins, Master._

_Your definition of fun is very different from mine._

“And a cunning warrior.”

 

_Remember Anakin, we’re counting on you to take out those local fighters. Otherwise, I’m afraid the Umbaran capital will never surrender._

_Ugh, does my battalion have to do everything?_

_Well, you seem to always volunteer._

 

“And he was a good friend.”

 

_Obi-Wan, may the Force be with you._

_Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you._

“Which reminds me,” Obi-Wan reached into his trunk to pull out Anakin’s lightsaber, “I have something for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn’t allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did.”

 

 _How many more Skywalkers will you kill,_ _Kenobi? **How many more?**_

****

He handed the lightsaber to Luke.

  
“What is it?”

 

“Your father’s lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster,” said Obi-Wan as Luke ignited the blade, “an elegant weapon, for a more civilized time.”

 

_Anakin, this weapon is your life._

“For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before _the Empire_.”

 

_Killed not by clones these younglings were. Slain by a lightsaber they were._

_If into the security holograms you go, only pain will you find._

_I-I must know the truth, Master._

Now Obi-Wan’s smile was gone.

 

“How did my father die?”

 

_Because I failed your father, Because even now I can’t bear to tell you the truth._

“A young Jedi, named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights.”

 

_It can’t be… it can’t be._

_Destroy the Sith, we must._

_Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Anakin._

_To fight this Lord Sideous, strong enough, you are not._

_He is like my brother… I cannot do it._

“Vader was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.”

 

_Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is…consumed by Darth Vader._

The memory was still raw after all these years. But talking to Luke, made it _easier_ somehow. Because when Obi-Wan looked into Luke’s young eyes, he couldn’t help but see another young boy from Tatooine he had known long ago.

 

Obi-Wan may have failed Anakin, but he swore in this moment that he would not fail his son.

 

* * *

 

_It was the final day of the Clone War. Obi-Wan was shipping out with the 212 th to finally put an end to General Grievous and what was left of the Separatist fleet. _

_“You’re going to need me on this one Master.”_

_“Oh I very much agree. However, it may just turn out to be another wild Bantha chase.”_

_The Council had demanded that Anakin stay behind, a decision that Obi-Wan could sense made Anakin furious. But Obi-Wan could sense something even deeper going on with his former apprentice- something Anakin was trying particulary hard to hide._

_“Master… I’ve disappointed you. I haven’t been very appreciative of your training… I have been arrogant and I apologize. I’ve just been so … frustrated with the Council.”_

_Obi-Wan smiled at his friend. “You are strong and wise, Anakin, and I am very proud of you,” said Obi-Wan, “I’ve trained you since you were a small boy and you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be. But be patient, my old friend.  It won’t be long before the Council makes you a Jedi Master.”_

_The words Obi-Wan spoke were nothing but the truth. Truly, despite his own failings as a Master, Anakin had grown into the greatest Jedi he had ever had the pleasure of knowing._

_Anakin said nothing, averting his gaze. The emotions coming through their bond were… particularly strong. Anakin must have known he could sense them._

_“Don’t worry about me, Anakin, I have enough clones with me to take three systems the size of Utapau. I’ll manage…even without your help.”_

_“Well there’s always a first time, Master.”_

_Obi-Wan laughed as he left to board his ship. But he only made it a few feet before he heard Anakin call after him._

_Even someone who was not Force-sensitive would be able to see how disturbed Anakin was. Obi-Wan sensed an intense struggle inside his old friend, as if Anakin was debating whether to tell him something important._

_“Obi-Wan…may the Force be with you.”_

_Obi-Wan was tempted to pry more. To stay and ask Anakin what was clearly bothering him so much. But there would be time for that later. Right now, he had a battle to win._

_“Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you.”_

_And with a friendly smile, Obi-Wan turned and left to board his ship without so much as looking behind him._

_He did not know at the time that this would be the last time he would ever see Anakin Skywalker._

  

* * *

As soon as Obi-Wan set foot on the Death Star, he felt it. _The cold._

 

The Dark Side was strong with this place, emanating from a single place. _Vader._

 

Vader’s mere presence was like a black hole, sucking up all light that was unlucky enough to get caught in its orbit. Looking at him through the Force was like looking into Chaos itself, though there was something intimately familiar at its center.

 

Their bond felt like it was on fire now, as Master and Apprentice neared each other for the first time in two decades. Anakin- no _Vader-_ must have sensed it too.

Obi-Wan heard a voice in his head calling to him.

 

_I can sense you, Kenobi._

It wasn’t Anakin’s voice. No, this was a much colder, much crueler voice.  It was _Vader._

 

 _You can hide from me no longer._  

 

It was in this moment when Obi-Wan finally understood what he had to do.

 

“I must go. I don’t think you boys can help.”

  
“Whatever you say, I’ve done more than I bargained for on this trip already,” said the smuggler. 

 

Luke’s brow furrowed in confusion and concern.

 

“I want to go with you.”

 

Obi-Wan sighed. He wanted so badly to tell Luke everything. To tell him the truth about his father, about the Jedi, and about his own destiny. But it was not the time for that yet.

 

“Be patient, Luke. Stay and watch over the droids.”

 

“But he can…”

 

“The droids must be delivered safely or other systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path than mine.”

 

Luke seemed to reluctantly accept, as stepped aside to allow Obi-Wan to leave to comm station.

 

_Come to me, old man, and I shall show you the true power of the Dark Side._

 

The battle Obi-Wan had fought for the last two decades was about to end.

 

* * *

_It was over._

 

_The Jedi Order had fallen along with the Republic. And Anakin…_

_Obi-Wan had to find him. Had to reach him before things got worse. So he went to the one other person who was as close to Anakin as he was._

_Truthfully, Obi-Wan had always known that Anakin and Padme were more than friends. But it was something he had learned to ignore. Now he no longer had that luxury._

_“When was the last time you saw him?”_

_“Yesterday.”_

_“Do you know where he is now?”_

_“No.”_

_Even someone who could not sense emotions through the Force would be able to know that Padme was hiding something._

_“Padme, I need your help. Anakin is in grave danger.”_

_That got her attention. “From the Sith?” she asked with alarm in her voice._

_“From himself,” said Obi-Wan. He took a breath._

_She deserved to know._

_“Anakin has…turned.”_

_“You’re wrong!” Padme snapped, “how could you even say that?”_

_“He was deceived by a lie. We all were,” Obi-Wan explained,” It seems the Chancellor is behind everything, including the War. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we’ve been looking for. After the death of Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice.”_

_“I don’t believe you…I can’t.”_

_They both shared the same exact pain. Obi-Wan felt it. The difference was Obi-Wan did not have the luxury of denying the truth._

_“Padme, I must find him.”_

_“You’re going to kill him…aren’t you?”_

_Obi-Wan felt like he had been struck. It was something he had known he would have to do since witnessing Anakin’s dark deeds, but hearing it out loud, made it…real somehow._

_Yes, he was going to kill Anakin. A man who mere hours ago, he had thought of as a brother._

_Then, something else hit Obi-Wan. A truth more terrible than anything that had happened so far._

_“Anakin is the father, isn’t he?”_

_Padme said nothing but Obi-Wan knew he was right. He couldn’t even bear to look her in the eye._

_“I’m so sorry.”_

 

* * *

Obi-Wan had thought of his old apprentice every day for the last twenty years. But nothing- _nothing_ could possibly prepare him for the sight of Vader.

 

He had known that Anakin had survived of course, but he had never actually _seen_ Vader before. And in his darkest dreams, he would never have imagined the nightmare that stood before him. A nightmare he himself had created.

 

This was not the wide-eyed boy from Tatooine he had trained. Nor was it the man he had called brother during the Clone Wars.

 

This was a monster.

 

 “I’ve been waiting for you, Obi-Wan,” growled Vader, “we meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now _I_ am the Master.”

Vader’s voice came hard and cold. The voice of a man who long ago lost any ability to speak on his own. A broken man, who was more than half machine.

 

“Your ability to dominate- to _possess_ does not make you a Master.”

 

“Many Jedi once thought as you do,” said Vader as he ignited his blood red lightsaber, “ I made sure they did not survive.”

 

Obi-Wan said nothing, assuming his standard Form III stance.

 

Everything that had transpired between them, from Tatooine to Geonosis to Mustafar, it all culminated in this very moment. _This_ was Obi-Wan’s ultimate destiny.

 

For a few brief moments, there was silence as both waited for the first person to strike. Their bond, once a  profoundly comforting feeling, now felt drowning in a burning river of lava, burning a hole into his very soul.

 

Obi- Wan smelled sulfur and charred flesh. 

 

Then, with the fury of a dragon, Vader struck. Obi-Wan struggled to maintain his defense, but that was an impossible task in the face of Vader’s onslaught. 

 

Their blades locked.

 

“Your powers are weak, _old man,_ ” snarled Vader as he towered over his former Master.

 

Obi-Wan broke the lock, responding with his own flurry of blows easily deflected by Vader.

 

It was clear after mere moments that Ob-Wan was hopelessly outmatched. But defeating Vader was not his destiny. His destiny was to fight his old apprentice… and fail.

 

This was not nearly the explosive fight they had twenty years ago on Mustafar. This was merely a formality.

 

“You can’t win. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

 

“I no longer have to imagine being more powerful,” said Vader as he swung hard against Obi-Wan’s blade.

 

Obi-Wan stumbled back from Vader’s attack.

 

For the first few years of his exile, Obi-Wan had wondered what it would it would take to save Anakin Skywalker. He would fantasize sometimes, about bringing Anakin home. That maybe, if they met again, he would be able to bring his old friend back.

 

But as he spent more time reflecting, Obi-Wan realized that there was no saving Anakin, because Anakin himself had died long ago. Now Obi-Wan saw that he was right.  In their bond, there was not a single trace of the man he once knew.

 

There was only Vader. There was thus no point in even trying to bring him back.

 

 _“Ben!”_ Obi-Wan heard across the hanger. He turned to see Luke staring at him.

 

Luke, the young pilot, with dreams of seeing the galaxy. The boy who was stubborn, compassionate and exceptionally strong in the Force. It still amazed Obi-Wan how similar he was to his father.

 

Behind Luke stood his twin sister. The girl who, while also quite stubborn, was already a determined and skilled fighter. The girl who always put others first, and herself last.

 

It was in this moment, as Obi-Wan watched Vader’s blade swing towards him, that Obi-Wan realized he had been wrong for twenty years.

 

Anakin Skywalker was not dead. Not as long as Luke and Leia lived.

 

And Obi-Wan Kenobi became one with the Force.

* * *

  _You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you._  


End file.
